I have a general philosophy of gun ownership- obtain quality pieces for all reasonable scenarios. At this time I feel well covered. However in my reloading ventures I've recently obtained 308 dies thinking like other calibers that I'd shoot quite a bit. But my only 308 is a Ruger hawkeye, which is bolt.

So am I gonna shoot that much 308 bolt to justify reloading it?
Or, do I need to find a scenario to begin a 308 battle or sniper build? (I own a quality ar15 build now).

Any words of wisdom out there?

*****decided to leave it alone for now. Thanks*****

John
*dont know why I'm even thinking of guns or reloading; I work all the time-who has time to shoot.

Last edited by jproaster; November 14, 2012 at 10:24 PM.
Reason: Made my decision

Isn't saving money, and making better rounds reloading its own justification? And saving money would reverse that wife's displeasure scenario. Just don't tell her that means you'll use the money saved to make more reloads...

Honestly, I think you should just be thankful for what you have. I was like this at one point, just focused on getting the nicest/coolest guns. Then i realized I hardly shoot the ones I have, so I started putting that money toward ammo. I'd way rather have a few gun and plenty of ammo/range time than have a whole bunch of guns and no ammo to shoot.

I've also realized that while multiple guns is nice, having any more than 3 or 4 calibers can be hard to stock ammo for.

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There is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people.

you can always justify another gun! if you get it at the right price it will never loose value. It can be used as a tool (hunting, self defense) or a toy ( looks great in the safe and even better when at the range) Either way thats how i justify a new one when the wife complains

Not sure what kind of shooting you like best, aside from hunting, but if you like to reach out and touch something the .308 is great to load for and play with. Here is an assignment. Shoot groups at 50- and 100-yards to see how your Hawkeye does. Investigate W748, Varget, RL-15, etc., or appropriate powder you have on hand if not these. Use 165-grain hunting bullets by the major companies, and also try Sierra's 168-gr Matchking for accuracy, but not for hunting. By the way, W748 also works great in the .30-30, and .30-30 round and flat-nosed bullets will also be accurate in the .308, so you can get double duty out of some of these items.

My vote goes to an AR-10. But there are other rifles that may fill the niche. I am assuming you're thinking of a gas gun. The M1A is also a solid choice. It can be justified that in the event of WROL, a battle rifle with superior capabilities to a 5.56 may be needed. The way I see it, even the Marines have M4s and M1A EBRs in one squad. I own a gas and bolt gun in .308. It just made sense to me, though. I think given enough thought, we can rationalize just about anything

The .308 is a wonderfull versitle cartridge. Components for them are common as dirt, and your Ruger Hawkeye is a very solid and would be well suited to handloading. I hand load for my Ruger Frontier .308 and love it. Took down nice Young Deer with my own hand load this morning and it performed beautifully. I recomend getting a good reloading manual do not go past recomended powder charges. Good luck

The only 308's I own are bolt guns. I shoot them enough to justify handloading. In fact you can do more handloading a bolt gun than any other. Loads that will easily function in a bolt gun will choke semi's and lever guns. The potential is there for much improved performance.

So i feel like the outcast in this tread because i keep saying things that are different from what everyone else says, but when it comes to home defense you really want a single gun you can trust. Realistically from start to finish the entire event will last maybe a minute?

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There is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people.

That's a question only you can answer. However, the broader question is how to maintain marital harmony while doing the things you want to do. That is also a question wherein the answer must fit your situations.

I can remember years and years of raising kids on a limited income and every expenditure had to go through the filter of justification, simply to make sure that the bills were paid and the kids had shoes and were properly fed. It's a hassle, but it builds character. Now that my kids are grown and gone, the wife and I have more disposable income than we've had in years past. I don't have any trouble justifying a purchase, normally don't even discuss a purchase with the wife, except to let her know that the UPS truck is going to drop a package.

At this stage of our relationship we've got our own checking accounts, our own income flowing in, and don't worry nearly so much about money as we did in the past. She doesn't count rifles, and I don't count shoes. I consider myself the luckiest man in the world.

Now, as to your ammo question. There is no doubt in my mind that I can build much better ammunition than I can buy. I can take advantage of sales to stockpile supplies, and I can obsess on quality control if I choose. Currently, my .308 ammo costs me about 35 cents per bang and it shoots very, very well.

But, for what it is worth - I have been known to buy a set of dies because the price was really good. And then buy a gun or two to justify the dies. I am not sure there is ever a rational explanation for any of this...

My Wife asked me how many guns I need, Answer ."Always one more" I asked how many shoes, earrings or jewelry she needs,the silence was deafening! I do not drink,go out with the guys,she knows where I am 99% of the time! If a gun:tickles my pickle,flops my mop,paddles my canoe,amongst other things I buy it! Cliff

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